“If we don’t get McKay we don't have to do the project at all.” That was the stance of director Tim Fehlbaum in a heated moment during pre-production on his Golden Globe-nominated movie September 5. But Fehlbaum wasn't talking about getting some big name actor to help make the movie, he was instead referring to archival footage of legendary sports journalist Jim McKay.
September 5 recreates the events of the 1972 Munich Olympic hostage crisis, where a group of Palestinian terrorists held Israeli athletes in their hotel room in the Olympic village. Specifically, it follows the work of the ABC Sports TV production crew that went from covering the day's sporting events to sharing a breaking news event live across the world. Jim McKay was a part of that coverage as an anchor for ABC Sports, helping to deliver the news to audiences, including the story’s tragic ending.
